Enter the research field and observe living as a practice and the house as an assemblage of various materialities, processes, subjective inscriptions and formations, usages and functions, regulations and laws (Kniess and Vollmer 2014; McFarlane 2011; Latour and Yaneva 2008). Try to narrow down the themes of your case by producing a first and preliminary collection of material – a sort of basic archive. To this aim, use different sources and methods (researching, holding informal conversations, observing) on various scales depending on your previously articulated interests and questions. At this point we are concerned with gaining an overview of the living situation, the potential thematic foci and the sources in order to narrow down the research interest and to anticipate relevant relations. Produce an open collection of material for your case. Consider the different scales (room/house; house/block; block/city); everything can be important.
Collect your complete material and spread it on the table, on the wall (http://www.pm.ud.hcu-hamburg.de/basics/modes-of-play/play/displaying/research-wall)or on the concept board. Attempt to create a first order based on formats and contents. What is being shown by the different formats? What do you see in your material and what don’t you see? Try to sort your sources and create lists, so that you can find your sources when you might need them again. Please use the Chicago Style Manual for citations, quotes and references (https://www.tandf.co.uk//journals/authors/style/reference/tf_ChicagoAD.pdf text: Chicago Manual). Organise, archive and use your research material according to the current ethical, legal and data protection guidelines (EU DGSVO; §27 HmbDGS).